Why Capitalism & Consumerism Make the Best Religion

[What Would Jesus Do?]

How can we square the consumerist ethic with the capitalist ethic of the business person, according to which profits should not be wasted, and should instead be reinvested in production? It’s simple. As in previous eras, there is today a division of labour between the elite and the masses.

In medieval Europe, aristocrats spent their money carelessly on extravagant luxuries, whereas peasants lived frugally, minding every penny. Today, the tables have turned. The rich take great care managing their assets and investments, while the less well heeled go into debt buying cars and televisions they don’t really need.

The capitalist and consumerist ethics are two sides of the same coin, a merger of two commandments. The supreme commandment of the rich is ‘Invest!’ The supreme commandment of the rest of us is ‘Buy!’

The capitalist-consumerist ethic is revolutionary in another respect. Most previous ethical systems presented people with a pretty tough deal. They were promised paradise, but only if they cultivated compassion and tolerance, overcame craving and anger, and restrained their selfish interests. This was too tough for most.

The history of ethics is a sad tale of wonderful ideals that nobody can live up to. Most Christians did not imitate Christ, most Buddhists failed to follow Buddha, and most Confucians would have caused Confucius a temper tantrum. In contrast, most people today successfully live up to the capitalist-consumerist ideal.

The new ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money, and that the masses give free rein to their cravings and passions – and buy more and more. This is the first religion in history whose followers actually do what they are asked to do. How, though, do we know that we’ll really get paradise in return? We’ve seen it on television.

Yuval Noah Harari. A Brief History of Humankind.

 

[22*43*51]

You're developing a pattern.

Christians are hypocritical.

You can extend that to all people and beliefs.

You can also find outliers.

 

[The Tradition]

All praise amazon.com....

 

[KitingHigh]

I'm calling bullshit. Show me the Buddhists and Confucian hypocrites.

 

[Hoosierhawkeye]

Anyone who believes in a strong moral code could be considered a hypocrite.

Being a Christian is going to involve you doing wrong, and often, and it demands that you admit that you do wrong, admit that you do it often.

It isn't about if you imitate Christ because it's impossible, It's a question of if you even really try. I think the author is failing to understand this reality.

That having been said he does have a good criticism of consumerist culture. Although it's not as clear cut as he likes to paint it. What does he consider to be rich? Many wealthy people do take great care of their assets and this is a part of what has helped make them wealthy. They have combined the ability to make large amounts of money with the ability to control their spending so that they can save and invest their money. But many wealthy people also spend money as fast as they make it.

Now if we are talking about the ultra wealthy then it's less clear. They may be limited by just running out of stuff that they want to buy. Also with many of them a large amount of their wealth is tied up in a company that they founded and they leave it there because they desire more then anything else to continue to control said company. I doubt most of them look at this as an investment and more of them look at this as something important to them that they've put their heart and soul into this and are not prepared to just had off control to someone else just so they can liquidate.

But I've also seen middle class and even poor people who can care for their money too. They just havn't found an ability to make great amounts of it.

 

[thewop]

How can we square the consumerist ethic with the capitalist ethic of the business person, according to which profits should not be wasted, and should instead be reinvested in production? It’s simple. As in previous eras, there is today a division of labour between the elite and the masses.

In medieval Europe, aristocrats spent their money carelessly on extravagant luxuries, whereas peasants lived frugally, minding every penny. Today, the tables have turned. The rich take great care managing their assets and investments, while the less well heeled go into debt buying cars and televisions they don’t really need.

The capitalist and consumerist ethics are two sides of the same coin, a merger of two commandments. The supreme commandment of the rich is ‘Invest!’ The supreme commandment of the rest of us is ‘Buy!’

The capitalist-consumerist ethic is revolutionary in another respect. Most previous ethical systems presented people with a pretty tough deal. They were promised paradise, but only if they cultivated compassion and tolerance, overcame craving and anger, and restrained their selfish interests. This was too tough for most.

The history of ethics is a sad tale of wonderful ideals that nobody can live up to. Most Christians did not imitate Christ, most Buddhists failed to follow Buddha, and most Confucians would have caused Confucius a temper tantrum. In contrast, most people today successfully live up to the capitalist-consumerist ideal.

The new ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money, and that the masses give free rein to their cravings and passions – and buy more and more. This is the first religion in history whose followers actually do what they are asked to do. How, though, do we know that we’ll really get paradise in return? We’ve seen it on television.

Yuval Noah Harari. A Brief History of Humankind.

I heard an interview with a high ranking member of the Church of Satan on the radio (siriusxm), and he agrees fully that Capitalism and Consumerism make great religions. He raised up in the church simply by accumulating wealth and material possessions.